NEW DELHI: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Friday visited flood relief camps in northeast Delhi’s Shastri Park, where he met displaced families and criticised the BJP-led government for its lack of preparedness. Kejriwal accused the government of failing to make necessary arrangements for flood victims and misleading the public with false promises, while Delhi Congress chief Devender Yadav also slammed the city’s handling of its dilapidated civic infrastructure.
As the Yamuna’s rising waters wreaked havoc across the flood plains, thousands of residents have been displaced, forced to seek shelter in temporary camps that lack basic amenities, Yadav said. Echoing similar sentiments, Kejriwal said the situation on the ground was grim, with many of the city’s potholed roads turned into slushy, dangerous traps due to the extensive rains. “The Delhi government has misled people with empty promises and done nothing to fix the city’s broken infrastructure,” said Yadav.
The Public Works Department (PWD) had claimed in June that it had set a “world record” by repairing 3,433 potholes in a single day across 1,400 km of roads, surpassing its target by 33 potholes. However, this achievement was swiftly exposed as a farce when the recent rains revealed the poor condition of the roads, Yadav added.
Kejriwal, also blaming the government for inadequate desilting of the Yamuna, said the city’s flood-like conditions could have been mitigated if proper maintenance had been done. He also urged the Centre to provide similar relief to the flood-hit states of northern India, as it had done recently for earthquake-affected Afghanistan.
While acknowledging that natural disasters cannot be prevented, Kejriwal emphasised that it is the government’s duty to ensure the safety of its citizens. “During such crises, it is the government’s responsibility to provide essential facilities for the poor and others in distress,” he said. On social media platform X, he said, “North India is battling a flood crisis. In Delhi, families in low-lying areas along the Yamuna are enduring severe hardships. I urge both Delhi’s BJP government and the Centre to provide immediate relief.”